Help - Information about newly acquired pot set

[Kizerk]

Hi all,
I just acquired a small set of 6 micro bonsai pots and was hoping someone on here had some more information than what the seller and I were able to piece together.

According to the seller these pots are from Seto Tokoname and the person they had gotten them from had them for over 15 years before selling.

I took the best pic I could of the chop marks on the bottoms of the pots but if anyone needs another pic please ask and I will do my best.

Thank you ahead of time for any information you can provide

 

[penumbra]

Those are tiny. I have no idea of the maker or the value. Though they are a bit rough on the bottom, they look like they are made well enough. I'm not sure what good they will be for use as small as they are. I mean I know someone Could use them for Something, but I wouldn't touch them.

 

[Kizerk]

Those are tiny. I have no idea of the maker or the value. Though they are a bit rough on the bottom, they look like they are made well enough. I'm not sure what good they will be for use as small as they are. I mean I know someone Could use them for Something, but I wouldn't touch them.

I had bought them thinking they were about double the size but when arrived they were much smaller.
I have no plan to use them right now and they are nice enough to have a shelf decoration. During spring I might take one or two and try to fit a small 1st trident seedling I have into them and see what happens but that's still a ways off.

 

[NaoTK]

These are slip cast pots by Bunzan
Seto and Tokoname are different places but near eachother. "Seto" is a generic term for pottery sometimes.

 

[sorce]

Wicked cool to see that dime pop up!

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[Huggz13]

Hi all,
I just acquired a small set of 6 micro bonsai pots and was hoping someone on here had some more information than what the seller and I were able to piece together.

According to the seller these pots are from Seto Tokoname and the person they had gotten them from had them for over 15 years before selling.

I took the best pic I could of the chop marks on the bottoms of the pots but if anyone needs another pic please ask and I will do my best.

Thank you ahead of time for any information you can provide

Oh wow the dime in the second pic took a second to register haha

Those are tiny!

I think they’d be perfect for some small Bromeliads or Cacti or other succulents.

 

[Kizerk]

Oh wow the dime in the second pic took a second to register haha

Those are tiny!

I think they’d be perfect for some small Bromeliads or Cacti or other succulents.

Yeah I was shocked at how small they were when I got them and needed something for a solid frame of reference to show them off.

Finding something that is both solid and will look appropriate in these has been a challenge.

 

[penumbra]

There are all sorts of succulents that will work well in tiny pots.

 

[rodeolthr]

I personally would be tempted to plant some japanese maple seedlings in those. They would most likely benefit from being kept atop of tray of moist soil/growing medium

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@Kizerk since you didn't respond to @NaoTK - I will restate the info Nao gave you and expand a bit. These pots were made by Bunzan, by the slip casting process and fired in Bunzan's kiln. They are not Tokonome, they are also not from Seto.

Bunzan is an artist of some fame, some of his hand built and glazed work is award winning and quite pricey. He does make simple low end pieces that are very affordable. Much of his work is a good introduction to fine bonsai pottery. He is noted for colorful glazes on his pieces for shohin trees (4 to 8 inches diameter pots). I have a couple of his pots, and cherish them.

Slip casting process is a mass production technique, but these are nicely done and nicely glazed. I would use them for Lithops, or cacti like seedling Lophophora

 

[Carol 83]

I have a couple of his pots, and cherish them.

Me too.

 

[NaoTK]

They are not Tokonome, they are also not from Seto.

Where is Bunzan's kiln, anyway? He went through a popularity boom a while back where every accent plant in the Kokufu was in a loud Bunzan. It's nice that he makes small affordable pots.

 

[Carol 83]

I have a couple of his pots, and cherish them.

Me too.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Though the OP pots show Bunzan’s chop, the kiln is really known more for hand-formed pots with bold combinations of very colorful glazes. So I’m not sure this is the same potter as who made those in the OP; even the clay is different. Sam Edge did a good write up on Bunzan several years ago:

Bunzan Pots

About two years ago, Boon Manakitivipart introduced me to a few new pots he had found on one of his trips to Japan. Interestingly enough the potter chop spelled Bunzan. For those of you know that…

samedge.wordpress.com

 

[Kizerk]

Though the OP pots show Bunzan’s chop, the kiln is really known more for hand-formed pots with bold combinations of very colorful glazes. So I’m not sure this is the same potter as who made those in the OP; even the clay is different. Sam Edge did a good write up on Bunzan several years ago:

Bunzan Pots

About two years ago, Boon Manakitivipart introduced me to a few new pots he had found on one of his trips to Japan. Interestingly enough the potter chop spelled Bunzan. For those of you know that…

samedge.wordpress.com

Thank you for this link. I will give it a read for a bit more info on what these pots ar

 

[Kizerk]

@Leo in N E Illinois thank you for the additional information and thank you @NaoTK for the initial response. I have loved the challenge these pots have presented and knowing that they have some amount of pedigree behind them makes me all the happier I added them to my collection.

I plan on keeping them as a display only collection for now but will keep an eye out for any decent succulents in thebfurute if I decide to get something planted in these.

 

[NaoTK]

Fukui prefecture, I had to look up where his studio is

The clay on the little pots doesn't bother me, its typical for slip cast pots by any potter. Like I'm sure he messed around with cheap pots at some point (and I have some cheaper molded pots by bunzan.) but now that you mention it the glaze does bother me. Its very typical mid-fire chinese glaze, like its not any of the glazes I see on bunzan's main line work. But who cares, they are tiny pots, why would anyone bother knocking off $5 pots?

 

[Kizerk]

So after much deliberation I decided to keep 5 of the set as a display piece and try potting up a small root cutting from my burning bush with a bud on it in the 6th.

It's currently sitting in a humidity tray of pumice and we will see if anything grows

 

[TinyArt]

SO TINY!!! Glad to see you're trying one out

 

[Crazy Diamond]

So after much deliberation I decided to keep 5 of the set as a display piece and try potting up a small root cutting from my burning bush with a bud on it in the 6th.

It's currently sitting in a humidity tray of pumice and we will see if anything growsView attachment 425025